Corn-derived food ingredients I don't avoid

There are a few food ingredients which either are or could be made
from corn but don't seem to cause any reaction in my case. This might
be because they sometimes aren't made from corn, because processing
removes whatever it is I'm sensitive to, or because I eat them in such
small quantities. I'm listing these here because your experience is
likely to differ from mine and this additional list might help you
understand your reactions.

alcohol and vinegar

Generic alcohol and distilled white
vinegar are made from a variety of grains, including corn,
but I've never noticed any reaction to them on my part. Apparently
distillation removes enough of the corn proteins or denatures them
past recognition. Alcoholic beverages are probably quite a different
story, but I don't drink.

Aspartame is the generic name for
Nutrasweet brand sweetener.
I've heard that corn is used in the production of aspartame, but I
don't have an authoritative source for this claim. Aspartame is made
from two amino acids (aspartic acid and phenylalanine) and
methanol. Amino acids are a major corn product, according to the Corn Refiners Association list of corn products, but it
doesn't say which ones. Methanol can be made from corn but rarely is
in practice. I've never experimented to see if I react to foods
containing Nutrasweet.

According to the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration's rules, it's possible for bleached flour to
contain cornstarch without any obvious mention on the label. The
reason is that cornstarch is allowed as a diluent for some bleaching
agents. Since the flour is labelled as bleached, you're supposed to
understand that it could contain any of many bleaching agents and
their inactive ingredients. I've never noticed any reaction from
bleached flour, but I don't eat much of it.

citric acid

Citric acid is most commonly used
to provide tartness in some candies and drinks. It can be made from
corn, although it isn't necessarily. I'm not aware of any reaction to
it, although I avoid most of the products containing it because they
also contain corn syrup.

lactic acid

Lactic acid is another tartness
agent and preservative, often used in the manufacture of cheese. It's
derived from lactose ("milk sugar"), which ADM, at least, makes from
corn.

lecithin

Lecithin is an emulsifier which
occurs naturally in eggs, corn, and other foods. I'm told that all the
lecithin used in commercial food production is derived from soybeans
and should be free from corn.

table salt

Ordinary iodized table salt
contains dextrose. According to a Consumer Affairs representative at
Morton International, dextrose is
added to stabilize the iodine compound in the salt. Without it, the
iodide decomposes and the iodine evaporates. Sea salt contains iodine
naturally, but loses most of it in processing. Iodine is an essential
nutrient, so you should think carefully about where your dietary
iodine will come from if you stop using iodized salt. I'm not aware of
reacting to the dextrose in table salt, but I use very little in
cooking and none at the table. I have heard from people who claim to
be affected by the dextrose in table salt.